Royal St. George's College
| Royal St. George's College | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Location | |
 | |
| , | |
| Information | |
| Motto | Scientia Pietate |
| Established | 1964 |
| Headmaster | Hal Hannaford, MBA |
| Number of students | 426 |
| Campus | Bloor and Bathurst |
| Colour(s) | Blue, Red, Yellow and White |
| Mascot | St. George |
| Affiliation | Anglican Church |
| Website | http://www.rsgc.on.ca |
Royal St. George's College is an Anglican private school in Toronto, Ontario for boys in grades 3 through 12. Founded in 1964 as a choir school in the tradition of the great collegiate and cathedral choir schools in England, Royal St. George's offers grades 3 through 12 and serves as the choir school for the Cathedral Church of St. James. It is the only pre-university school in Canada authorised to use the prefix "Royal" and houses the Chapel of St. Alban the Martyr.
History
Royal St. George's College began life in the 1950's as the dream of John Bradley and Healey Willan. John Bradley subsequently enlisted the support of his fellow teachers at St. Andrew's College in Aurora, most notably Jack Wright, who became the first headmaster of the School, and John Allen, his successor. These Founders envisioned a school which would combine the best attributes of the Independent School traditions with the training of boy choristers in the music and liturgy of the Anglican Church.
The College opened its doors in 1964 on the property of the Church of St. Alban-the-Martyr. As the School established a strong academic reputation, enrolment grew, and a modern classroom wing complete with science laboratories, library and full-sized gymnasium was built.
Shortly after its twenty-fifth anniversary, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II honoured the College by granting it "Royal" designation, making it the only pre-university institution in Canada with such a distinction.
Situated in the Annex in the heart of Toronto, Royal St. George's is close to cultural and academic centres such as the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the University of Toronto, the Toronto Reference Library, and numerous theatres.
The current Headmaster of Royal St. George's College is Hal Hannaford, who took the position in September 1996, upon the retirement of John Latimer. Previous Headmasters were John Allen and the founding Headmaster, Jack Wright.
The current Head of the Senior School is Paul O'Leary, and the Head of the Junior School is Catherine Kirkland. The current Dean of Students is James Lee.
House System
Each student and teacher is assigned to one of the four houses named after cathedrals in England: Canterbury, Westminster, Winchester, and York Minster. Each house is led by a House Captain, who leads his team mates in such activities as the cross country run, the house music competition and the house drama competition, and in a variety of sports in an organized house league.
The purpose of the house system is to provide an opportunity for students to compete in a variety of different areas of interest, whether academic, athletic, dramatic, or musical, and at the same time to promote school spirit. The goal is to have each student involved in activities, and by pursuing a wide variety of interests, they can build on old strengths and develop new ones.
Throughout the year, students have many opportunities to earn house points for individual effort and accomplishments in academics, in clubs, or with athletic teams. Individual contributions are recorded and each student accumulates personal points. As they reach benchmarks in their point totals, students are awarded a chevron to wear with their house pin. The white level is 550 points, the red 1100, the bronze 1650, the silver 2200 and the gold level is 2750 points. The house standings are determined by adding together the point totals of the students in that house. The house competition culminates on Prize Day when the J. L. Wright Cup is awarded to the house with the highest point total, and the Gilbride Cup goes to the individual student who has earned the most points.
Chapel
Archbishop Sweatman of Toronto envisioned St. Alban's Cathedral replacing the de facto use of St. James' Church, whose parishioners would not countenance re-dedication to a new patron saint or loss of control of the church. St. Alban's was designated the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto in 1883, while still in the planning stages. The chancel was completed in 1891, but after more than twenty years of inactivity the project was cancelled by the primate. The chancel became the school chapel when the College leased the property.
